Riders with the Bike Shaker volunteer cycling coalition would like to see additional safeguards installed on the Lake-to-Lakes Trail.

SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- In response to an open letter from the Bike Shaker riding organization, city officials have set an Aug. 27 public meeting to further discuss plans for the Lake-to-Lakes Trail.

A group ride will also be scheduled, which may include Councilwoman Anne Williams, to tour the three-quarter mile connector between the City of Cleveland's completed trail and the last remaining section into Cleveland Heights.

The project is expected to be completed next year, and there are some features that the volunteers with Bike Shaker would like to see included in the plans, including a "HAWK" signal at the Fairhill Road crossing.

That's a moniker for "High-intensity Activated Crosswalk," similar to the HAWK signal near Shaker Heights Middle School that helps students cross Shaker Boulevard safely to the soccer fields.

Enthusiasts would like this device incorporated into the plan that the city has been working on for more than six years, submitting preliminary plans that have qualified for state and federal grants to fund the $680,000 project.

Feeling their concerns were overlooked at a June 16 meeting, Bike Shaker organizers Cassandra Haddock, Austin McGuan, Rick Smith and Mitch Thompson drafted their open letter to further the dialogue with the City Planning Department.

"Although we all recognize that you and the City's consultants are the planning and traffic engineering professionals, we fail to understand why the taxpayers, including those of us who will very likely be biking on this route don't have a real opportunity to provide input throughout the development of the Trail Alignment Plan," the open letter states.

The open letter contends that a flashing crosswalk at Fairhill and East 127th Street will not be enough to protect cyclists and pedestrians.

"It is important to understand that Bike Shaker has requested a HAWK signal or traffic light at the Fairhill crossing as a matter of safety, not comfort," the letter states.

With that in mind, city officials will convene at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 27 to continue the discussion with the organization that garnered an "Honorable Mention" as a Cycling-Friendly Community from the League of American Bicyclists less than a year after Bike Shaker's formation last summer.

Cleveland Heights has already registered the LAB's "Bronze" designation as a "Bicycle-Friendly Community," which would be the next level for Shaker.

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